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Web Coverage Of The Paralympics

The London 2012 Summer Olympics was streamed worldwide through a well maintained round the clock system of networks, broadcasters and social media platforms.

And - now that we are at the end of the Paralympics - how can they be compared.

Well, unfortunately, they can’t.

There was no live Paralympic feed in the USA

Yes, you read that right.

According to The Independent, NBC - the broadcaster that holds all of the London 2012 Paralympic coverage rights in the USA - “has decided not to screen a single minute of live coverage of any (Paralympic) event.”

So they’re not having a webstream, a decision that:

> Aimee Mullins - the Chef De Mission of the American Paralympic Team - describes as “disappointing”

> And the UK Disabled People’s Council describes as “really really appalling”.

And as for the opening ceremony - NBC broadcast what they considered to be its “highlights.”

How NBC used YouTube as a web stream substitute

According to The Daily Mail, NBC decided to use the social media platform of YouTube to broadcast webcasts of the Paralympic games.

And not live webcasts.

These are daily streams that - since they only last for a few minutes - show certain events and not others.

All of the webcasts combined will add up to around 5 and a half hours worth of footage - a fraction of what's available.

And then there’s the 90 minutes Paralympic special - that NBC will broadcast on the 16th of September.

Seven days after the 2012 Paralympic games have ended!

It's no wonder that questions of inclusiveness and equality have arisen.

Why hasn’t the web - and web video - been used properly?

There really is no reason why web video couldn’t have been used as a method of broadcasting live worldwide coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic games.

NBC could have even used advertising to make a profit - as long as it web streams received enough viewers.

And herein lies the problem.

Though the technology to do this has existed for some time - perhaps a major audience didn't.

I hope this isn't the case, but if it is then let's hope we adopt a different perception for Rio 2016.

Click here to find out more about the possibilities that web video can bring to major events and your business.